Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-10-12
COUNTERFEIT MONEY.
q Few Valuable Points on tho Dstectio,
OF Bogus CURRENCY.

- TOW NAAu8Dto POINTS on tho DBtOcdOn
otBogus Currency.
Without doubt the easiest way to make
money is to have mandatory OF ones
own, saws the Chicago Herald So evil
DENTS this fact that, although money tel
lers have developed almost marvellous
skill In the detection Of counterfeits, and
although the discovery Of the fraud often
leads to the Incarceration OF the perpe-
traitor of il, there are persons who carry
on regular business of counterfeiting
money. There must be workmen of great
skill and experience, q mandatory
fitted up with tools, travelling agents, and
branch agencies. The following letter,
received the other day by a gentleman in
Chicago, calls attention to one Of the
methods employed in this somewhat pecul-
lar business:
DEAR SIR:-My confidential agent gave me
your name and address, and said he thought
that your were a man in q position to handle
my goods in safety, so / concluded to write to
you. II have made o mistake do me no harm
Let matters drop. My motto Ia, never harm q
man who is willing to prove himself friend.
MY business Is not exactly legitimate, but the
green articles deal in are safe and profitable
10 handle. The sizes are 81, f2, 80, So Do
you understand! can not be more palmer I'M
I'll know you mean business and IL you con-
clude TO answer this lettor will send you full
PeshaSAAoio ouu tcIus anu Will cnQ61VOr 10
satisfy you on every point that IL you are my
friend will prove q true and lasting one to
you Remember. 1 want simply to convince
you that am just as say-a friend 10 friend.
When you write be sure 10 return this letter
Then 1 will have confidence in YOU Never
SEND registered letters, as will not sign for
any, and be sure to 9. nd mo your namc and
post-onlce address Us might lose the one
now have before hearing from you again. !
can and VIII heln you out OF any money troub-
les are in, and no one on the face OF the
earth mood be the wiser unless you betray me-
Trusting you viii take no ofense from the
above, remain, yours in confidence.
o. H. BIRSEY,
Care OF Cigar Store, 5es Ninth Avenue, New
York City.
+. S.-Be sure to return my letters and will
always return yours.
This man seems to be q counterfeit er OF
paper money. This Is tho highest branch
Of the business, as it calls for the greatest
amount of skill and admits of being done
on a large scale. The oleverest limitations
known are of the $500 and 81 900 bills; In
fact, so clever that the issues have beer.
almost entirely retired by the Treasury.
The detection Of spurious money has been
reduced to a regular system. The counter.
feiter makes his plate, invariably a single
one, from which he prints. All the notes
OF his issue, then, will be alike, and will
have certain points of difference from the
genuine. These points Of difference are
described, and all the counterfeit notes
are tabulated, the new ones being added
as fast as they appear, in quarterly pub.
LEGATION which ell bank tellers and Others
interested avail themselves of. 1t can
easily be seen from this why the most
dangerous and Elusive counterfeiter
that ever lived was that man or
~h> II
limitations of bank notes with tho pom. OIL
course he initiated different bank bill
each time, and by the time the fraud was
detected in any instance the perpetratoi
OF it was likely Is be in some other part OF
the world. He was one Of the weGlthiest
men in tho world. He could draw money
whenever he wished. The detection OF
spurious coin il no difficult matter, as an
ordinary degree Of keenness Of perception
in regard to weight, color aud sound Is all
that is necessary. Receiving such money
is generally due to carelessness and the
hurry of business. The popular test for il
is throwing it on table to see whether II
has the right ring or not. This test is
hardly reliable now, however, as some
shrewd person. who might put his evident
learning and skill to a more honorable, il
not a more profitable use, is making bad
'ANN WV AiAS "a AhC CO.u
For the detection of counterfeit paper
money the bank teller needs faculties
sharpened by practice and experience. He
must have the skilled eye of the artist,
because so trifing are frequently the
points of difference between the bogus and
the genuine, that they would be likely to
eiude the attention of an Inexperienced
person, even after he had been warned.
OF course, such differences as those point
ed out in the following item, are easy of
detection, If one is looking for them. The
reason the counterfeit is dangerous Is that
no one would ever notice such small de-
fects il his attention were not specially
callod to them:
clover counterfeit e21 silver certlfcnte was
received at tho money order division of the
post-of1ice. At first sight IL would be taken un.
hesltatingiy, and it is only when subjected To
close inspection under n microscope that its
deficiencies can be noticed, and that too only
on the reverse. where the word engraved is
spelled "engravod," and the word taxes spelled
''tareS." The CASH ers of q number OF CITY
banks were shown the bill" and pronounced
1t the best OF its kind they had ever examined.
Any one glancing through "Under.
woods Counterfeit Reporter" will see that
some counterfeits are easy of detection, as
whole phrases are changed and parts Of
the engraving are left out, while in others
the character of the bill can only be de-
tormined from its general appearance by
practiccd eye. The following quotations
will illustrate the first part Of this state.
mont. s. note issued by the Marine Ma,
tional Bank of New York Is referred to:
"In the genuine note the title reads: The
Marine National Bank of the City of New
York, City of New York. in black panel.
In the counterfeit note the title reads: The
Marine National Bank of New York, New
York. only being in the black panel.n
Such q statement as the following, taken
from the same source, is very explicit:
"All notes on the First National Bank OF
Galena, ILL.,, are fraudulent. No such bank
in existence." AS an example Of such
slight differences between the spurious
bills and the genuine as to tax TO its ut
most even q practiced eye, the following
description of counterfeit $500 is cited:
Unquestionably one OF the most dangerous
counterfeits in existence. The engraving ane
workmanship nearly equal TO the genuine; the
lathe work Is excellent. numbering Of the worf
fair and color good. The star on the right o.
the treasury number Is somewhat blurred
The portrait OF J. @ Adams is excellent, but
the lobe OF the ear 10 very indistinct In the
counterfeit tho button upon the coat neares:
the lapel is almost sauare-in the genuine IL "a
round. The vignette Of the figure Of Justice 10
finely engraved, with the exception Of the fol
lowing points: AS the scale Is held aloft in the
left hand the upright holding the beam ID
crooked and is larger in the counterfeit thar
in the genuine-in the genuine the upright
shows only 70 the lower part of the hand, while
in the counterfeit it shows 70 the second finger
from the base; the white curve In the
arm f. Q perfect oval In the genuine.
while in the counterfeit IL Is not. The
left foot Of the vgnette, as IL extends from the
garment, presents a dubbed appearance In the
counterfeit while the toes are short and NOT
half the length Of the genuine. The parallel
ruling is excellent; the note IL printed on fiber
paper. and signed John Allison, Register, and
+. +. Spinner. Treasurer. Bankers and others
should receive these notes with great care, az
It Is only by q comparison with the genuine
that the majority OF experts can positively de-
eide n 70 the genuineness OF note OF this
class